Choose paint color last in room redesign

Interior designers recommend selecting the carpet and fabrics during a room design before choosing the paint colors, which then can be integrated into the overall design through an element that contains several of the key colors in the room.(Photo: Ron Bowman)

Color and paint are a dynamic pair that can work magic in your home, enhancing architectural features, setting a mood, or defining a style. And most importantly, a fresh coat of paint can bring a tired décor up to date with a chic color palette that’s current and in vogue.

Introducing the Color of the Year

If you’re looking for inspiration, recently Sherwin-Williams announced their pick for Color of the Year, 2018, called Cavern Clay. Sue Wadden, director of Color Marketing for the paint company, describes it as “a burnt orange hue that can play well with a lot of colors. Cavern Clay’s warm terra cotta feel is ancient and has elemental roots. It corresponds with the emergence of ‘desert modern,’ which combines the elements of mid-century modern style with the earthy character of the American Southwest. It’s not a break from the current trends, rather a reflection of where we see design heading in the next few years.”

According to Wadden, “Minimalism and neutrals have been a big focus for the past few years, and we see people wanting to play with color again.” But are you one of them?

Fear of Commitment

If you’re uncertain about working with color, you’re like a lot of people who are afraid of making a mistake. Here’s some advice from people in the know.

“Just follow your gut,” advises HGTV super star, Joanna Gaines. True, color is always a personal choice, and most people can admit to a favorite. But developing a color scheme for a room, or an entire house no less, demands more study, and perhaps some patience to get it right.

“The best way to select interior paint colors is to do it last,” says Ridgewood, NJ, interior designer Krista Wostbrock, of Wostbrock Home. “I find working from the ground up to be the best way to create a beautiful and effortless design. So, we'll find our rug, for example, and then build fabrics on top of that. Once the overall scheme is set, then we can finalize the paint color.”

The designer also says there's no real limit on how many colors you can incorporate into a design, as long as they are reflected all together in one element. “I like to find one thing that incorporates at least two or three different colors.”

Joe Pisarri, owner of Eagle Paint in Englewood, NJ, agrees. “Start by looking at the colors already in the room. This is a good way to narrow down your options and choose a source color for the wall. Don’t just go to a paint store and think you’re going to pick a color off a rack where there’s 5,000 choices. That’s too confusing.”

Make Me a Match

A common complaint people have about paint is that the color chip never seems to match what winds up on the wall. There are a number of reasons why.

“First of all, people rely on a 1-inch chip to pick out a color for an entire wall. But they can’t know what the expanse of that color will be on that wall when the color really blows up,” Pisarri explains.

The creme-colored ceiling and furniture fabric, and the ambient light in this dining room, brighten the terra cotta tone of the deep, rich Cavern Clay painted walls.(Photo: Sherwin-Williams)

“The second thing that affects rendition is the color on the ceiling or the trim,” he says. A bright white or a crème, for example, can change the perceived color of the wall by toning it down or adding contrast.

Another important, but often overlooked factor affecting color is lighting. Natural, incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen light sources all render color differently. “You could match the color correctly,” says Pisarri, “but the lighting in the room changes it. What looks great during the day can appear completely different at night and in different artificial light.”

If you want to test a wall color to see how it reacts to light, buy the smallest amount of the paint you can. Apply it, and then see how the color looks at different times of the day and in artificial light. It’s also a good idea to tell the paint store what type of lighting you use in the room.

Fifty Shades of…

As Wadden of Sherwin-Williams points out, Cavern Clay isn’t going to replace today’s still popular gray palette, so relax if you’re thinking of going that way. But even neutral gray has a number of different shades and tones that don’t always work well with each other or the accent color you might be considering. So, it’s wise to consult an expert for advice.

Notes Eagle Paint’s Pisarri, “Everybody keeps asking for gray, gray, gray today. A guy comes in and asks for ‘just a regular gray’, for example. So, we show him a placard of color, maybe something like a hazel-eyes color, which is a blue-gray, very soft with some undertones in it. And then we show him something stronger, maybe an aubergine color. There’s some pillows in his room with that color, he says, so you suggest it as an accent.”

And a color scheme is born.

Pisarri admits that he has talked some people out of a particular color on occasion, as well. “I advise them the best way I can, explaining why I see the color as a mistake. A typical case is when there’s a string of rooms together and the homeowner wants to use a color that’s so strong it makes everything look off. Or sometimes a homeowner just likes a particular color, but doesn’t know where to use it. In either case, I might suggest a place where we can plug in that color somewhere else in the house.”

Looking Forward

If you want to stay ahead of the trends, check out the fashion world. Interior design trends won’t be too far behind.

“We saw the cowgirl-chic aesthetic on French runways everywhere,” says Wadden. “These runway trends then get translated into the home and interior design. Other societal and global trends come into consideration when we’re selecting Color of the Year, as well as the women’s movement, the cosmos and wellness. All of these are being translated into interior design.”

Designer Wostbrock offers her own advice about keeping current. “Color trends continue to circulate throughout history and there’s no real way of keeping up with them. I just tell my clients to do what makes them happy and brings inspiration to their life. If you choose colors that bring you positivity and make you feel a certain way, use them. Positive emotions are always in style.”

The Match Game

Can you get a paint store to custom mix a color, such as Cavern Clay, using any manufacturer’s paint? Can a big box store, for example, match it, using their own brand of paint? The simple answer, according to Joe Pisarri, is sort of yes, but really no.

Sherwin-Williams recently introduced Cavern Clay as its Color of the Year. The “burnt orange hue” is warm in tone with terra cotta characteristics.(Photo: Sherwin-Williams)

“It might seem like a match to the average eye, but to someone who knows color, the color will be different.” That’s because paint companies like Sherwin-Williams or stores like Eagle Paint create their own formulations for colorants, the pigments used to tint paint.

“In fact,” according to Pisarri, “one manufacturer is now making it impossible to color-match their paint colors with a product line that cannot be reproduced. Only that company’s lab can make it.”

For a Tiptop Job

Surface preparation and proper paint application is essential for getting a great result.

According to Dumont, NJ, professional paint contractor, Jim Corliss, give walls a light sanding and cleaning to ensure a smooth surface. “Fill all the nail holes, gaps and spaces. If it’s appropriate, you may want to prime the surface, too.”

Also, use a good quality brush. “If you’re going to apply latex or acylic paint, or even oil-based paint, synthetic thin-filament brushes are the way to go,” advises Corliss. “Traditional natural, horse-hair or ox-hair brushes, however, are still often used for oil paints, and to apply polyurethane, varnishes, and clear finishes.”

Finally, always apply the paint in the direction of the wet edge. “Because latex and acrylic paints dry quickly, hit them with a little bit of an acrylic extender, which will give you great coverage.”